Break-away container



'Jan. 27, 1-970 H. H. EELKEMA 3,491,907

BREAK-AWAY CONTAINER Filed Aug. 12, 1968 INVENTOR.

Herman H. Ee/Kema ATTORNEKS' United States Patent O 3,491,907 BREAK-AWAY CONTAINER Herman H. Eelkema, 2121 Iglehart Ave., St. Paul, Minn. 55104 Filed Aug. 12, 1968, Ser. No. 751,905 Int. Cl. B65d 23/00 US. Cl. 215-1 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container formed of a relatively soft plastic or the like formed with grooves in the walls so that the container can be broken open easily to remove all of the material contained therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention Many materials sold in bottles and other containers cannot be completely removed from the container by the consumer, especially if the material is relatively thick or the containers are designed in odd shapes. Because the containers cannot be completely emptied a large percentage of the material sold therein is thrown away.

Description of the prior art In the prior art containers are constructed so that they are larger at the open end to aid in removing all of the material therefrom. However, this is unsatisfactory when the manufacturer desires a certain peculiar shaped con tainer, which container may or may not be indicative of the material contained therein. Also in the prior art many containers are constructed which can be severed along predetermined lines to utilize the container for another purpose after it is emptied. For example, plastic containers are presently constructed which, after being emptied, may be utilized as pails, scoops, etc. These prior art devices are also unsatisfactory because the container must be constructed in a special design and a large amount of additional cost is utilized in forming the container so that it is suitable for the additional use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to a break-away disposable container having a portion of the wall substantially diminished in thickness so that it can be easily cut, with an external tool or a wire imbedded in the wall, to break the container open and utilize all of the material contained therein.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved container which can be easily broken open, regardless of the shape, to utilize all of the material contained therein.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a break-away container formed so that knives, scissors, or the like, can be easily utilized to cut the walls of the container to open the same.

It is further object of the present invention to provide a break-away container having a wire imbedded in the wall thereof to cut the wall so that the container can be opened and the material easily removed.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the accompanying specification, claims, and and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the figures:

FIGURE 1 is a view in side elevation of a first embodiment of the break-away bottle;

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FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view as seen from the line 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view as seen from the line 33 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view in perspective of a second embodiment of the break-away bottle, portions thereof broken away and shown in section;

FIGURE 5 is a view in perspective of a third embodiment of the break-away bottle;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged sectional view as seen from the line 6-6 in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a view in perspective of the break-away bottle illustrated in FIGURE 5, partially broken open;

FIGURE 8 is a view in perspective of a fourth embodiment of the break-away bottle, portions thereof broken away and shown in section; and

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged sectional view as seen from the line 9-9 in FIGURE 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIGS. 1 through 3 a generally cylindrical bottle 10 is illustrated having a neck 11 at the upper end thereof with a substantially diminished diameter. The neck 11 has outside threads 12 formed therein and a cap 13 is adapted to be threadedly engaged thereon. While the bottle 10 is illustrated as having the usual shape it should be understood that any desired shape might be utilized and the present invention will operate thereon.

The bottle 10 has a portion or groove 15 with a substantially diminished or smaller thickness extending from an edge of the opening in the neck 11 downwardly along the neck 11 and the side of the bottle 10, across the bottom thereof and up the other side to the opening in the neck 11. The groove 15 lies generally in a plane through the bottle 10 and positioned so that approximately onehalf of the bottle 10 is situated on either side thereof. The upper end or opening of the bottle 10 has notches 16 in the edge thereof coinciding with the groove 15 for placing the sharp edge of a knife or the like therein to correctly align it with the groove 15. Once the material contained in the bottle 10 is utilized as much as possible by pouring the material through the opening in the neck 11, a knife is placed in the notch 16 and the bottle 10 is severed along the groove 15 to open the bottle 10 and remove the remaining material.

FIG. 4 is a slightly modified version of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 with similar parts designated by similar numerals having a prime added to indicate a modification. The bottle 10" has a groove 15' extending therearound in a plane generally parallel with and spaced from the bottom. The groove 15' is illustrated on the inner periphery but it should be understood that it could also be on the outer periphery. In this modification a score mark on the outer periphery is utilized to position a knife or the like to start the cutting of the bottle 10.

Referring to FIGS. 5 through 7 a second embodiment of the break-away bottle is illustrated wherein similar parts are designated with similar numerals and all of the numerals have an a afiixed thereto to designate a second embodiment. In this embodiment a relatively thin strong wire 20a is imbedded in the wall of the bottle 10a from adjacent the opening in the neck 11a along one side and across the bottom to the other side thereof. It should be understood that the wire 20a may be imbedded in the wall of the bottle 10a in a variety of positions and the present position is simply illustrated as an example. Also, the wire 20:: should be formed from a material which will not react with material inside of the bottle 10a. One end of the wire 20:: has a ring 21a afiixed thereto for easily gripping the wire 20a and applying a force thereto. The ring 21a is afiixed coaxial with the opening over the upper edge of the neck 11a for convenience in storage. The opposite end of the wire 20a is anchored in the wall of the bottle a by means of a small piece 22a of material extending transverse to the longitudinal axis of the wire a. Thus, removing the ring 21a from its coaxial position over the opening in the bottle 10a and pulling the wire through the wall of the bottle 10a. along one side and the bottom thereof (as illustrated in FIG. 7) will cut the bottle 10a so that it can be broken open to allow easy access to the material contained therein. It should be understood that the wall of the bottle 10a may have a diminished thickness adjacent the wire 20a or the wire 20a itself may diminish the thickness of the wall by its presence therein. That is, because the wire 20a. is imbedded in the wall of the bottle 10a the thickness of the material making up the bottle 10: is diminished where the wire 20a replaces the same.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9 another embodiment of the break-away bottle is illustrated wherein parts similar to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3 are designated with similar numerals and all of the numerals have a b affixed thereto to designate another embodiment. In this embodiment a slot b is formed in the walls of the bottle 10b on opposite sides of the bottle 10b so as to lie in a plane positioned with approximately one-half of the bottle on either side thereof. The slot 30b extending down opposite sides of the bottle 10b is bridged by channels 31b extending radially outwardly from the outer periphery of the bottle 10b. The channels 31b close the bottle 10b so that liquids or other material may be contained therein without leakage. The thickness of the material forming the channels 31b is somewhat diminished as compared to the remainder of the bottle 10b so that the channels 31b can be easily cut from the bottle 10b or severed so that the bottle 10b can be opened along the slot 30b. In the production of the bottle 10b it may be desirable to leave a thin web of material across the slot 30b on the inner periphery of the bottle 10b so that material will not flow into the channels 31b. Thus, when the channels 31b are cut from the bottle 10b material contained therein will not spill out. Also, it should be understood that many varieties of channels 31b may be utilized and the present embodiment, illustrated as a substantially ring-shaped cross section, is simply illustrated for exemplary purposes.

Thus, several embodiments of a break-away bottle are disclosed, all of which can be formed in substantially any configuration and upon emptying all of the material therefrom that can be removed, the break-away bottles can be broken open to remove all of the material contained therein. Very little additional cost is required to produce any of the embodiments disclosed and no special tools are required for the break-away process.

What is claimed is:

1. A break-away container comprising:

(a) a disposable container having walls formed of a relatively soft cutable plastic and a normal opening for the egress of substantially all material contained therein;

(b) a portion of the walls of said container having a substantially diminished thickness, said portion lying generally along a line through which it is desired to open said container for removing material not removable through the normal opening; and

(c) a portion of said container adjacent the portion with a diminished thickness formed for receiving a cutting instrument therein.

2. A break-away container as set 'forth in claim 1 v I wherein the portion having a diminished thickness extends from an opening in said container generally vertically down opposite sides thereof to the bottom thereof.

3. A break-away container as set forth in claim 1 wherein the portion having a diminished thickness substantially encircles the container a spaced distance from the bottom thereof.

4. A break-away container as set forth in claim 1 wherein the portion having a diminished thickness includes outwardly projecting channels bridging a slot through the walls of the container and extending a substantial distance therealong, said channels being formed for removal to allow the container to be opened along the slot therethrough.

5. A break-away container as set forth in claim 1 having in addition a relatively thin wire imbedded in the container wall adjacent the portion having a diminished cross section for cutting the wall to open the container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,583,669 1/1952 Santina 22049 3,281,007 10/1966 Dorosz 22054 3,385,461 5/1968 Mallin 2l51 GEORGE T. HALLS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

